Haynesville -- All the West St. John Rams wanted to do is have another shot at a Class 1A championship, so they could fill the void of last season’s state title loss.

They didn’t get their chance.

Second-seeded Haynesville escaped the Class 1A semifinals with a 36-35 win in front of a rowdy home crowd at Memorial Stadium. As Golden Tornado fans poured onto the field, West St. John players were forced to take the nearly seven-hour ride home with tear-stained faces.

“The worst part about it is you’re going to beat yourself up the whole ride,” Rams Coach Robert Valdez said. “They’re grieving.”

The No. 6 Rams looked to tie the game for the second time when Austin Howard found Lafirrin Stipe for his second touchdown with 7:55 left in the game, but the Rams extra-point opportunity sailed right.

West St. John found life again when Haynesville kicked a 15-yard punt, setting up a drive at the Rams 48-yard line.

Twice, West St. John faced fourth downs. The Rams converted the first one on a Kylum Favorite 3-yard run off the left side. However, four plays later, Howard’s pass attempt fell off the hands of Haynesville’s two-way standout Jerrell Jackson with 1:13 left. The Rams (9-4) led 22-6 after the first quarter.

“They wanted it more,” said Favorite, who led his team with 203 yards rushing, including touchdown runs of 47 and 65 yards. “When we were on our heels, they took it. They had more will.”

Haynesville Coach David Franklin was quick to call the game one of the best he’s seen at Memorial Stadium, and that’s saying something with Haynesville’s tradition. Haynesville hosted its first semifinal game since 1996, and is back in the Superdome for the first time since 2009, also the last time it won a championship.

“Both teams played really hard,” said Franklin, who added that homefield advantage played a factor in the win. “I really hate to see anyone lose this ballgame. I was really concerned about how many people we had playing both ways and them not. We had several on the verge of cramps, but somehow fought it off.”

Like West St. John, the Golden Tornado (11-2) had speed and multiple weapons in the backfield. The Rams knew they’d have to key on CaVontae Critton, but he still piled up 200 yards and four touchdowns. Critton's third touchdown was setup after a West St. John fumble. Fullback Tyus Early added another 165 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 12-play drive to give Haynesville a 36-29 lead -- its first of the game -- with four seconds left in the third quarter.

“We wanted the ball back, but they kept finding holes,” Valdez said. “If we were able to get one more score, we could have changed the whole complexity of the game.”

Everything went in West St. John’s favor in the first quarter, and nearly everything went in Haynesville’s favor in the second and third quarters. Fittingly, the halftime score was a 22 tie. The game featured 931 yards of offense, including Haynesville's 432 on the ground.

Critton ended a 62-yard drive with a 3-yard run with 5:05 left in the first half. Jackson converted the 2-point conversion with a run, and the Golden Tornado recovered from a shaky start.

Haynesville fumbled the ball away on its opening drive of the first quarter, and West St. John took full advantage of it. The Rams needed only four plays to go 98 yards. Favorite had a nifty 47-yard run after going through two tackles.

The Rams scored again on their next two drives, but they couldn’t maintain that momentum when they needed it.

“They poured their heart and soul into it,” Valdez said. “This is extremely painful, but Haynesville has been doing this for so long. It’s extremely hard to simulate it. It was a dog fight. We had to take advantage of every opportunity we had, and we just didn’t. We still have no regrets.”